Olga Kosanović , born on April 1st, 1995 in Austria, is a director, screenwriter and teacher based in Vienna. In 2020 she completed her film studies at the HFBK in Hamburg, in the class of Angela Schanelec. In 2017/18 she was an exchange student at the FAMU Film Academy in Prague. She is also a graduate of the Graphische and independent film school "Friedl Kubelka" in Vienna.

Her films were screened at numerous international festivals, in 2021 she was awarded the 3Sat Emerging Talent Award for her film “Comrade Tito, I inherit” at the Oberhausen Short Film Festival, got nominated for the German Shortfilmaward LOLA and received the austrian Filmprize 2022. In 2023 her Shortfilm "Land of Mountains" was awarded with Best Newcomer Award at Diagonale Filmfestival in Austria, followed by the Award for Best midlength Film aswell as Audience Award at the Filmfestival Max Ophüls Preis in Germany 2024. 

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In addition to her work as a freelance director, author and occasional cinematographer, she works as a teacher at the Graphische Schule and the Hertha Firnberg Schule in Vienna. In 2021 she was also a BMKÖS starting scholarship holder for film, in 2023 a Literar Mechana screenwriting scholarship holder and in 2025 she is part of the Berlinale Talents program.

 

Her feature film debut “Far from being Lipizzans” will celebrate its German premiere at the 2025 Max Ophüls Preis film festival.  

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Austrian Films Interview 2025:

https://www.austrianfilms.com/interview/olga_kosanovic/far_from_being_lipizzans_ENG

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Awards

• 2024 Max Ophüls Preis Best Film middle-length section ("Land of Mountains")

• 2024 Max Ophüls Preis Audience Award middle-length section ("Land of Mountains")

• 2024 Filmfest Dresden Audience Award ("Land of Mountains")

• 2024 Filmfest Dresden Youth Jury Award ("Land of Mountains")

• 2022 Austrian Filmprize 2022 ("Comrade Tito, I inherit")

• 2023 Diagonale Best Newcomer Award ("Land of Mountains") 

• 2024 Trieste International Film Festival Best Short Film ("Land of Mountains")

• 2023 Ljubljana International Filmfestival Best Short Film ("Land of Mountains")

• 2023 Vienna Shorts Social Responsibility Award ("Land of Mountains")

• 2023 Linz International Short Film Festival Best Screenplay & Best Austrian Film ("Land of Mountains")

• 2023 Shortynale Filmfestival Jury-Prize for Social Commitment ("Land of Mountains")

• 2021 3Sat Young Talent Award Short Film Festival Oberhausen ("Comrade Tito, I inherit")

• FBW filmrating "Particularly valuable" ("Comrate Tito, I inherit")

• 2021 Festival of Nations, Jury Prize of the City of Lenzing for the best short film ("Tabu")

• 2021 Vinilonga Audience Award ("Tabu")

• 2020 LIFF Sweden Winner ("Tabu")

• 2020 Queen Palm International Film Festival Gold Winner ("Tabu")

• 2019 Art Prize Willi Münzenbergforum Berlin, main prize for the best film work ("Valentin")

• 2019 Festival of Nations Lenzing, jury main prize for the best documentary film ("Valentin")

• 2018 Youki International Film Festival, jury main prize for the best short film ("Valentin")

• 2017 Let's Cee Film Festival Vienna, audience award for the best short film ("Hypothermia")

• 2017 Nominated for the German Young Talent Award ("Unterkühlung")
  
   

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